


Curiosity and Conclusions

by Jenny_Starseed



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-15
Updated: 2012-01-15
Packaged: 2017-10-29 13:56:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/320653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenny_Starseed/pseuds/Jenny_Starseed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She had already drawn her conclusions while he was still calculating the improbabilities. This is what happens when Irene and Sherlock satisfy their mutual curiosity</p><p>Written before series two aired, so no spoilers and completely AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Curiosity and Conclusions

Irene was always THE woman. He often had little interest in women, but she was the only woman who wasn’t his mother that intrigued him so much. She was very clever, unpredictable and exciting because she puzzled him so much. And she was beautiful; tall, dark and slender, much like him. They would have made an arresting couple. So when they were watching the night sky from the balcony of Irene’s expensive flat, he couldn’t help but think...what if? Sherlock had just returned the only copy of a sex tape her husband made as a teenager from a blackmailer and he was collecting his fee. After the cheque had been made and pocketed, there was little to say while watching the night sky.

“You’re curious, aren’t you?” asked Irene.

Before he could say a thing, she pulled him in for a deep and passionate kiss. His brain momentarily stopped before he responded in kind. It seemed like an eternity, he had never been so simultaneously uncomfortable, excited and frightened. His mind analyzed everything, what she smelled like, the taste of her lipstick and how warm she was. His mind also flashed images of what they could be; the way she would possessively clutch him while having sex, the lazy kiss the morning after and the awkward but exhilarating freshness of a new love.

But his mind also flashed the numerous and probable ways the relationship wouldn’t work. They met under false pretences, distrust and deception. That combined with the fact that they were aggressively competitive and domineering people meant that their relationship had a statistically high probability of failure. There would be the first fight, the slamming of doors and the endless amount of sulking, cigarette smoking, moody violin concertos and sleeplessness she would inspire in him. It was as if the possibilities had been quietly playing out at the back of his mind while he worked on the case for her and the kiss had sparked them into his immediate attention.

He pulled away breathlessly. She was slightly dishevelled but all together looked calmer than he was. Her composure stirred the ire in him. She tilted her head a moment and suddenly, it seemed she drew the same conclusions.

“It’s a shame really,” began Irene, her eyes alight with excitement. “If we met five years earlier, we would have been wild together. Imagine! We would have ended in a way that would put a supernova to shame. Which is exactly why I’m glad we didn’t, we’re much better off as friends than former lovers who are now enemies. The world couldn’t handle the latter, wouldn’t you say?”

The sodding arrogance, drama and confidence of the woman, Sherlock thought. That’s why he adored her. She was just like him in too many respects. He much rather have her as a friend than an enemy who was good in bed.

“It would have been a mistake,” he replied stiffly.

“No, we’re both too old and experienced for it. I’m happily married and I have a useful consulting detective for a friend,” Irene mused. Her face lit with the brightest smile he had ever seen. “I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve always wanted to write an Irene/Sherlock fic. Written before series two aired, so this fic is rendered completely AU.
> 
> None of these characters are mine. Unbeta-ed and Unbrit-picked.


End file.
